NAFAU, Metro sign wage agreement
The Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union (NAFAU) and Metro today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) following substantive negotiations on employees’ working conditions. NAFAU deputy secretary general Willem Absalom said the agreement provides employees with an across-the-board increase of N$450, which amounts to about a 10% increase.
Absalom said the negotiations were concluded amicably without disrupting Metro’s operations, adding that the agreement was reached despite the economic challenges facing the parties. He said the negotiations focused on improving employees’ living standards while encouraging greater productivity. “Happy workers will be more productive,” Absalom said, explaining that the spirit of the negotiations was to improve employees living standards.
The agreement also provides for adjustments to certain specialised positions and policies, which the parties agreed could be reviewed where necessary.
Absalom said the agreement is for one year, after which the parties will engage in further negotiations. He thanked Metro management for its approach during the negotiations, saying the agreement was about the interests and welfare of employees rather than the union. Metro managing director Bryan Davis said the company has more than 2000 employees and welcomed the conclusion of the negotiations. “We are very pleased that we reached an amicable agreement and that our people can now get to whatever is due to them and we can move on,” Davis said.
Absalom also encouraged employees who are not union members to join NAFAU, saying the union negotiates on behalf of all employees covered by the bargaining unit.
The agreement brings the negotiations to a close while providing employees with an across-the-board wage increase and adjustments to specialised positions.
